A Question Asked
by MissDevon
Summary: Lily finds that Chole might be the only one who can give her advice on how to handle Cane and how to keep him away from her kids. Chloe finds that Lily might be the only one who thinks she made the right choice for her daughter.


A Question Asked

Lily sipped her coffee as she walked out onto the patio of Crimson Lights and saw Chloe sitting there working on her computer. She knew the dark haired woman was not well liked at the moment and the reason why, but she also knew she needed to approach her one time nemesis and rival in love for her now not so prince charming if she was going to get the answers she needed to gather the strength she knew she would need to do what she believed was right for her children.  
Slowly, she approached the woman who, she reluctantly admitted to herself, she had once thought of as a friend when she had modeled for Jabot and Chloe had styled her. Back before Cane's lies about being Phillip and DD's father had been revealed. Before he had broken her heart the first time and tried to use Chloe's daughter as a peace offering.  
In hindsight, she could see that her children weren't the first he had tried to kidnap a child out of their mother's arms.

"You gonna stand there staring at me all day or lay into me like everyone else has for taking DD away from Billy and causing him to run off to Hong Kong?" Chloe asked without looking up from her laptop.

"Actually, I was going to ask you how you had the strength to do it," Lily admitted.

"What?" Chloe asked, her head shooting up.

Sighing, Lily slid into the chair across from Chloe, "look, I know we haven't been friends in a long time. Hell, I'm not even sure if we even were."

"I'd like to think we were… back before…. You know I'm not that same person anymore, at least I think I'm not. I think being a mother to DD has changed me. That I grew up.  
Became a better person.  
I think Chance had a part in that, too.  
I wish Billy had, and that he grew up too, but… well, recent events show the opposite, " Chloe answered tiredly. "And yet, I'm the big bad wolf. The bad girl who lied about Cane being her daughter's father, even though he did too, because he faked the DNA tests to cover his lie about being Phillip, and then he forged the birth certificate to try to steal my daughter, but no one remembers that do they?"

"I do," Lily admitted. "I helped talk him into backing down, remember?"

"Right. He'd do anything for his precious Lily, except tell you the truth that he wasn't the father and…" Chloe exhaled. "Ancient history.  
Then Billy and I got married and I tricked myself into thinking we could make it. He feed into the fairy tale even while screwing Mac behind my back,  
Got what I deserved, that's what everyone thought.  
That and that I was lucky to get out of the marriage with joint custody.  
And I was happy with that.  
Was happy with him being with Vicki. She seemed to settle him. Ground him. Then the Lucy stuff happened and Jana and…. I couldn't take the chance of him endangering DD.

When he found out… when I enforced the court ordered he took off… Everyone blames me.  
I'm surprise you don't."

"Maybe because I'm kind of in the same boat," Lily told her. "I actually wanted to know how you had the strength to do it."

"What?" Chloe asked surprised as she saved her worked and closed her laptop, intrigued now.

"I know I need to keep Cane away from the twins, but he keeps popping up and he wants to be a part of their lives and I don't want to deny them their father and yet…"

"Lily, the man played dead, tried to make you think you were going crazy to the point you had yourself committed and then helped his father get them on a plan headed to Australia, I don't think people would blame YOU for keeping him away from your kids!" Chloe chided.

"I just… I have the strength to divorce him, I don't know if I have the strength to keep him away from the kids and keep it up. I mean how do you do it?"

Chloe sighed: "I don't listen to other people.  
I follow my heart.  
I mean, it isn't easy. I have people against me on it. Telling me how it's my fault Billy spun so out of control when he was spinning that way before me. Telling me how I should know better because I grew up without a father. But I don't want DD to grow up without her father, I want her father to grow the hell up and be there for her. That's what most people don't see or get."

"That's the difference; I don't want Cane or his crazy family around my kids. I'll always be afraid he'll be planning on taking them. I'm kind of seeing someone else and… he'd be a good father figure and there's my dad and Devon and my Uncle…I grew up with strong men. With a father that wasn't my biological father, I don't see it as being the only way a child can have a parent.  
But Cane…. He's going to fight and fight dirty; especially… you saw what he did to Mac for the stem cells when I had the cancer. What if he uses the Cancer against me?"

Chloe rolled her eyes: "God, sometimes I forget how naive you can be, Lily. With all the lies he's told, Cane's lucky he's not inside a jail cell. We get Paul to find out his secrets-_ all _of them- we combine them with what we know. Hell, I'm sure Nina has a list that we don't know about as well from when she was trying to get the tests done for Chance and realized something was wrong.

He has cancer on you. OK, but you've been Cancer free for over a year. You have a strong family support system. We have criminal activity and a life built on lies on him. Who do you think is going to have the stronger case, if you want to pursue it?"

"For my kids' sake I have to," Lily replied sadly. "You'd really help me?"

"Why not? Torpedoed my relationship with Kevin by getting full custody. He didn't agree with me doing it."

"Really? Why not?"

"Billy needed to be cut a break, even after Jana. Quilt over Jana is my take…" Chloe shrugged.

"You did what was best for your daughter. Things went in a direction you weren't expecting, didn't they?"

"Heather never told me Billy and Victoria could lose Lucy," Chloe admitted. "Bit of advice, use another lawyer."

Lily laughed: "Yeah, already am"

"Then do what you have to do.  
Worse that happens is it doesn't go the way you planned, but at least you'll know you did what you had to do for your kids. And no matter what anyone saids that's what really counts."

"It's just hard. He shows up in the park. Seemingly harmless, but the kids… they see him and then… "

"Yeah, Billy sends DD gifts and she cries herself to sleep or throws tantrums. You just have to deal with it. Keep the schedules. Keep the discipline. Remind them that daddy loves them but can't be there for now. With DD it's a bit easier. I tell her he's on a trip. If Vicki didn't have the stick up her ass I'd have the play dates with Resse set up to continue. But, like I said, I'm the big bad wolf.  
But don't worry, you'll always be the wronged princess."

"Wow, is THAT how you see me?"

"That's how people see you, Lily. Little miss perfect, the woman who overcomes everything, the one who chases love and will someday find true love because her perfect fairy tale is meant to be.  
You'll have people on your side when you fight Cane.  
Even me, whether it's over a cup of coffee or a secret meeting."

"How about we get the kids together one day? I know DD's older but she was good with Lucy and I'd like the company. I miss having a girlfriend I could talk to about fashion and stuff."

Chloe laughed: "Well I certainly am the one to talk to about that. Friday night, your place? I'll bring the mags and movies you take care of the food?"

"If you bring one of your mom's cakes for dessert," Lily said as she watched Chloe slip her laptop into a designer bag.

"Deal. In the meantime, I gotta go get DD from school and head to the store. See you Fri. night."

"Sounds like a plan," Lily smiled.

"You know, I'll have to look through the closet, but I probably have some great stuff for Mattie… if I get to it I'll bring it with me…"

"I'd appreciate it."

"Great."

Lily laughed: "Who'd of thought deadbeat dads would have us talking as friends again?"

"Yeah and it being the ones who had us stop talking to begin with? Ironic isn't it?" Chloe asked as she grabbed her bags and walked off, leaving Lily alone with her coffee and her thoughts, as well as her new plans for how to deal with Cane….


End file.
